Comedy club owner defends Daniel Tosh's rape joke debacle

Another Floridian is in the news for saying some pretty insensitive things, since comedian Daniel Tosh was accused of making gang-rape jokes in a comedy club Friday at the expense of a female patron. Unlike Rep. C.W. "Bill" Young's "get a job" comment, however, someone is coming to Tosh's defense -- the L.A. comedy club's owner.

But first, the background: A woman posted on a tumblr blog named Cookies for Breakfast a diatribe calling out Tosh for picking on her, and things have spiralled out of proportion for the comedian, who grew up in Titusville and graduated from UCF. She notes had no idea who the Tosh.0 host was, and was hit with this:

"Tosh then starts making some very generalizing, declarative statements about rape jokes always being funny, how can a rape joke not be funny, rape is hilarious, etc.," the unnamed woman being quoted writes (read the whole thing here). "I don't know why he was so repetitive about it but I felt provoked because I, for one, DON'T find them funny and never have. So I didnt appreciate Daniel Tosh (or anyone!) telling me I should find them funny. So I yelled out, 'Actually, rape jokes are never funny!'"

That apparently set off the comedian, who allegedly responded, "He says, 'Wouldn't it be funny if that girl got raped by like, 5 guys right now? Like right now? What if a bunch of guys just raped her…' and I, completely stunned and finding it hard to process what was happening but knowing i needed to get out of there, immediately nudged my friend, who was also completely stunned, and we high-tailed it out of there."

Tosh later apologized (kinda) on his Twitter feed, posting"all the out of context misquotes aside, i'd like to sincerely apologize" with a link to the blog post included. "the point i was making before i was heckled is there are awful things in the world but you can still make jokes about them. ‪#deadbabies" he added.

Jamie Masada, owner of the Laugh Factory, told E! News he thought is was all a misunderstanding. "Comedians sometimes tell jokes and sometimes they can be off color. I think Daniel Tosh is one of the funniest comics alive. He is one of the most caring people I know. He had no intentions of hurting anyone," Masada said. "I understand where she is coming from, but Daniel Tosh did not attack this young lady. I feel bad for her and I apologize to her. If you are a member of the audience and you start dishing out something to a comic and try to be funny, you better be able to take it."

The woman said the manager on duty apologized for the way she was treated and offered her comp tickets, which she accepted, although Masada says she was offered a refund while the writer denies that. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network wasn't amused, either.

"When will this 'funny man' realize that rape jokes aren't funny?" spokeswoman Katherine Hull said. "By suggesting that an audience member deserved to be gang raped, Tosh took his shtick to a new low. Applause is due to the woman who had the guts to vocalize what many in the room were thinking."

Not to condone this kind of behavior, but the woman who wrote the post admitted a) she had no idea who Daniel Tosh was, so that is setting her up for disaster right there; and b) she was there to see Dane Cook, which automatically discredits her taste, even though she said she didn't find Cook's humor funny, either. If you're willing to pay for a comedy show headlined by Dane Cook, you'd better wear a helmet.

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Here's the latest celebrity gossip and news about actors on drugs, pop stars having babies, Hollywood stars getting married and celebrity deaths. Compiled by Lydia Harvey and the folks at tbt*, Tampa Bay's free daily newspaper, it pokes fun at celebrity gossip and those who worship it. And don't forget the amazing YouTube clips that find their way into the Juice.